Includes three Downtown business fronts

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Archives
The Alhambra Theater underwent about a $400,000 renovation project last year on the exterior and entryway using money from federal and municipal grants. The brick work was repaired, building painted and windows were replaced as well as installing more efficient lighting.

EVANSVILLE - Three Downtown business fronts — including what may be the oldest building in the Downtown commercial district — have made it onto the Preservation Alliance of Evansville's "Top Ten Endangered List" for this year.

"It's only recently these particular buildings have been threatened and come to our attention," said Matt Rowe, president of the Preservation Alliance. The three properties are at 18, 22 and 14 N.W. Sixth Street, which face The Victory between Main and Sycamore Streets.

The three buildings are also on the National Historic Register. The building at 24 N.W. Sixth St., built in 1855, is believed by Rowe to be the oldest Downtown commercial building. Currently, a realty sign listing "1/2 block for development" hangs on the side of the building

"I think it's probably a more prime piece of real estate, with it being adjacent to the Ford Center," he said.

Rowe — who also serves as the executive director of the Reitz Home and is chairman of Evansville's Historic Preservation Commission — said that while the Preservation Alliance is not against development, the group is opposed to tearing historic structures down for new development.

"We do firmly want to preserve the architectural landscape from our past, which is concentrated right here in the Downtown area," Rowe said. "I think we all (in the Preservation Alliance) advocate for re-use and restoration."

Some familiar names appear on the endangered list again this year, including the Alahambra Theater on Adams Avenue, which is currently undergoing another round of restoration; the McCurdy Hotel, soon to be renovated by The Kunkel Group; and the entire Washington Avenue National Register Historic District.

The Peters-Margedent House at 1506 E. Indiana St., tucked away among a neighborhood of homes near the intersection of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. 41 is also on the list.

The home is offset from the other houses in the neighborhood, and is hard to pick out due to overgrown vegetation, he said.

It was designed by William Wesley Peters, a University of Evansville graduate who was one of the first students in famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright's fellowship program. He was also Wright's leading assistant from 1935 to 1959.

Rowe said the home is a landmark of modern architecture. Preservation Alliance, he said, is trying to save the house by possibly moving it from its current location.

"We think it's an important part of architectural history. It's an early example of William Wesley Peters experimenting with Usonian Style," he said.

This year's annual Amy W. MacDonell-Randall T. Shepard Historic Preservation Lecture will focus on Peters and will be presented in conjunction with the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science's exhibition, "Samara: Frank Lloyd Wright in Indiana," which is running from Sept. 29 to Dec. 8.

The list was released by the group — described by Rowe as a loose affiliation of people interested in preservation in Evansville — Thursday during an event that was part of several during May, which is Evansville Historic Preservation Month.

Dennis Au, historic preservation officer with the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development, said there are a slew of events and activities planned for the month, including several walking tours and other events.

One new event, Au said, is what they're calling "Brushes with History," where people are invited to a walking tour of a neighborhood, and, after the tour, artists are invited to capture what they see in the Plein-air tradition.

"We hope to attract artists and photographers to come and spot some things and just kind of set up their easels and tripods and see what kind of artwork we can get," he said.

The next "Brushes with History" is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday. The tour of the Riverside District, starting from the Reitz Home Carriage House, will showcase examples of architecture from 1830 to 1940, Au said.